


Thirty-two and A Third Times

by skyclectic



Category: Super Junior
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 07:42:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12766302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyclectic/pseuds/skyclectic
Summary: Kyuhyun is also strangely silent on the other line and Leeteuk realizes he must have used up all his words too.I love youhe thinks desperately, gripping his phone tightly, hoping that his words travel the miles all the way to China and land comfortably in Kyuhyun’s heart.After a heartbeat, Leeteuk feels it.I love you too.He smiles, telegraphs good night, and gently hangs up.





	Thirty-two and A Third Times

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired from "The Quiet World" by Jeffrey McDaniel.
> 
> Part of the Super Junior 100 Fic Challenge. Prompt #88 Numbers (Leeteuk/Kyuhyun).
> 
> Written and posted on helloparoxysm@livejournal on 20th November 2008.

**_In an effort to get people to look_ **  
**_into each other’s eyes more,_ **  
**_the government has decided to allot_ **  
**_each person exactly one hundred_ **  
**_and sixty-seven words, per day._ **

 

The ministry official steps up to the centre of the room and clears his throat. Immediately, a hushed silence falls over the crowd. Leeteuk finds that it presses into his eardrums and he shifts in his seat.   
  
“By words of The One, Lord Soo Man, the reason for the passing of this decree –” The ministry official begins, reading off a scroll. His voice is high and grates on Leeteuk’s ear. He winces and feels the start of a headache.  
  
“As such, Decree number 207 states that from tomorrow onwards, each citizen of SM Town will be allotted exactly one hundred and sixty seven words, per day.” 

 

That night, back in his apartment, Leeteuk pushes his cold Chinese takeout noodles around and around his plate. He tries to count the number of words he used that day but after 10 minutes of trying, he realises he cannot even remember  _what_  he said let alone how many words. Sighing, he dumps his uneaten noodles into the trash and rinses his plate in the sink.  
  
When the numbers on the digital clock beside his bed flash 12, Leeteuk gently takes out his phone. He dials, his fingers dancing on the numbers.  
  
“Hey,” Kyuhyun’s voice floats into his ear and Leeteuk wonders at how much he feels with just that one syllable.   
  
“Hey... I miss you.”   
  
“I miss you too.”   
  
Leeteuk smiles his first real smile that day.

 

The next day, Leeteuk wakes up at the same time he does every other day. He does the same thing that he does every other day. He walks out of his dorm at the same time that he does every other day. And as usual, he bumps into his neighbor at the lift lobby, just like he does every other day. And before he can remember to ration his words, he greets his neighbor good morning and wishes her a good day, just like he does every other day.  
  
In fact, he forgets that he is supposed to consciously ration his words so that when the clock turns 12 that night, he can use it all to talk to Kyuhyun.   
  
Later, when his phone rings, Leeteuk lets out a sigh and flips it open. He used up all of his one hundred and sixty-seven words in the first 2 hours of his day.

 

 

He tries to say hi anyway but nothing comes out – apparently The One, Lord Soo Man, hired an old witch to cast some spell preventing anyone from talking beyond their allotted word limits. 

Kyuhyun is also strangely silent on the other line and Leeteuk realizes he must have used up all his words too.  _I love you_  he thinks desperately, gripping his phone tightly, hoping that his words travel the miles all the way to China and land comfortably in Kyuhyun’s heart.  
  
After a heartbeat, Leeteuk feels it.  _I love you too._    
  
He smiles, telegraphs good night, and gently hangs up. 

 

 

Two days after the passing of the decree, Leeteuk is more cautious. He makes sure to ration his words and only speak when absolutely necessary. So when he bumps into Mrs Kim at the lift lobby, he offers up a bright smile and a nod of his head instead. 

 

 

 _**when the phone rings, I put it** _  
_**to my ear without saying hello.**_

Whenever he gets a call, he puts it to his ear without saying hello and listens without saying a word. He bites his tongue to keep from talking and sends a text message in reply instead.

Whenever someone asks him a question, he shortens the answers to yes or no. And for every yes, for every no, for every word he says, he takes out a small box from his pocket. He carefully threads a small red bead through a black string. 

 _33 already_  he counts silently to himself.  _That means 134 left to go._

 

 _**In the restaurant I point** _  
_**at chicken noodle soup. I am** _  
_**adjusting well to the new way** _

On his lunch break, Leeteuk smiles at the waiter and gestures for a menu. Glancing through it once, he points at a colourful picture and nods his head when the waiter takes his order.

Sipping his drink, he thinks to himself that he is adjusting well to the new way, the quiet way. 

 

 **_Late at night, I call my long_ **  
**_distance lover and proudly say_ **  
**_I only used fifty-nine today._ **  
**_I saved the rest for you._ **

When the clock turns 12, he dials the number he knows by heart. When he hears the rustle of bedsheets, he takes out the small box and carefully unwinds the thread. He makes his way down the line of beads, only 59 in all, and he smiles. 

 

 _**when [he] doesn’t respond, I know** _  
_**[he’s] used up all [his] words** _  
_**so I slowly whisper I love you,** _  
_**thirty-two and a third times.** _

Kyuhyun stays silent, doesn’t respond. It hits Leteuk that he  _cannot_  respond. And so Leteuk whispers  _I love you I love you I love you_ , over and over until his voice goes dead.

 

 _**After that, we just sit on the line** _  
_**and listen to each other breathe.** _  
  
  
Then, he settles back against the covers, thinks  _I need you. I miss you. I love you_ and listens to Kyuhyun breathe.

****

 

****


End file.
